THE GARDENERS’ AND NATURALISTS’ CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER. 
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Quinces , Medlars , Walnuts , Chestnuts , and other 
Nuts, should be gathered this month. The fruit of the 
Service tree, which is sometimes in request, will also 
uow be ready to gather. 
Raspberry. —Cut out the old canes that have pro¬ 
duced fruit, and thin the young canes to about three or 
four to each stool, then manun and dig between them. 
It may be as well to leave the young shoots their full 
length until the spring, as in some situations during a 
severe winter they die back. New plantations may 
now be made: plant single canes about eighteen inches 
apart, and secure them to espalier rails, which is an im¬ 
provement upon the old plan of growing them in stools. 
The autumn-bearing should now furnish a good supply 
of fruit, if the weather be mild. 
Strawberry. —Remove all runners from the plants, 
and manure and dig about those in rows. Some 
gardeners do not approve of this digging between them ; 
asserting, that by so doing many of the roots are 
destroyed, which is undoubtedly true, but the benefits 
derived by the plants from the loosening of the soil, 
and the manure, will be far greater than the few roots 
which may have been destroyed by the operation would 
have been. The making new plantations had better 
stand over till the spring, but runners may still be 
bedded out for this purpose. 
Berberries .—The fruit of this shrub is not only very 
ornamental, but also very useful as a preserve, it is also 
very useful for garnishing. For this latter purpose it 
should be gathered in bunches, and preserved in jars, in 
a strong brine of salt and water. 
H. C. 0. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Towards the end of the month the Asparagus beds 
may be cleared of their haulm, and a portion of the 
soil be forked into the alleys; then mix a little salt 
with some good manure, and lay a good coat over the 
plants, covering the whole with the soil deposited in 
the alleys for that purpose. 
Celery should be earthed up as often as it becomes 
necessary, not only for the sake of blanching, but to 
preserve the plants from any injury that might arise 
from the effects of frosts. Cauliflowers sown in August 
will now require to be pricked out into frames, or under 
hand-glasses, at a distance not less than four or five 
inches apart; and care should be taken that they are 
at all times provided with an abundance of air, except¬ 
ing, of course, when frosts are too severe to admit of 
its being done without injury to the plants. Some 
Lettuces, for a spring supply, should be treated in the 
same manner for a reserve crop, though the hardier 
kinds will often escape without injury in the open 
ground, still it is necessary to be prepared for any ex¬ 
tremes. Where convenient, a batch planted now under 
glass would yield a supply in far greater perfection 
than there could be expected out of doors. Continue to 
transplant Cabbage, and fork the soil between winter 
Spinach. Tie up a portion of Endive and Lettuce 
weekly for a succession. Sow Mustard and Cress 
weekly, in boxes, for a supply of small salading, 
&c., &c. 
As ground becomes vacant, manure, trench, and 
ridge it in steep-ridges immediately, and any alterations 
to be made must be proceeded with at once. Do not 
forget that thorough-drainage is the basis of good 
cultivation, and that, on heavy soils, labour cannot be 
better expended than in digging deep drains. When 
the subsoil is clay, burning may be resorted to with 
excellent effect. J. C. S. 
WILD FLOWERS FOR OCTOBER. 
Unless the votary of Flora be a student of Cryptogamic 
plants, country walks will now afford but little interest 
in a botanical point of view. Flowers are withered or 
withering, seed vessels are casting their ripened burden 
and the leaves soon follow the general law of decay. A 
few of the later plants will, of course, be found, and 
many even in good condition; such as some of the 
Hawkweeds ( Hieracia ), Atriplices , Clienopodia , and a 
few of the Umbellifcrac ; but a great deal depends on 
the climate of the locality; thus, while the botanical 
ramble now yields comparatively little in the northern 
or eastern part of England, in the west, and especially 
the south-west, where the winter does not visit vegeta¬ 
tion with such severity, many plants survive late into 
the autumn, and the common weeds are even seen in 
flower through the winter. 
The search for Fungi among the heaps of dead 
leaves and other collections of decaying vegetable 
matter, will be well rewarded, if the weather be not too 
severe during this month. Many of the Mosses, too, 
fruit at this time, and the microscopic examination of 
these beautiful little objects, will reveal a world of 
ctuious and interesting structures, and fumi-h a very 
attractive indoors occupation to the botanist during the 
winter season. A. H. 
ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
Ornithology. —Summer, with all its pleasures, all 
its bright and sunny days, is past; the few last Swal¬ 
lows will soon be winging their way to some more 
genial clime, for they, like fickle lovers, are constant 
only while their path is strewn with flowers. Now is 
the time that old familiar notes come gratefully to the 
ear, they are like the greetings of old friends, who, 
although eclipsed for some short time by more showy 
rivals cannot be forgotten; for are we not more apt to 
remember longer those that have gathered round us 
when misfortune weighed us down, or when death has 
been hovering near, than those that have been merely 
companions in our sunny hours, disappearing when a 
cloud overshadowed us ? We must admire the Night¬ 
ingale’s unrivalled notes, but I question with all his 
great gifts of melody, if they are so dearly prized as 
the sweet song of the Robin Redbreast, that little house¬ 
hold bird, who, with all his failings, is still a general 
favourite both with old and young. Now the chirping 
of the pert old sparrow is not so much despised as when 
surrounded by more sweet voiced rivals ; for as winter 
draws upon us, we cannot fail to feel a greater regard 
for those little birds who are our constant companions 
during the cold and dreary days of winter, than for those 
that merely sport around us when the summer sun is 
brightest. The woods now look rich in their autumn 
dress, and doubly so when seen under the influence of 
a bright October sun; the Bullfinch ( Pyrrhula vulgaris') 
pipes among the nut brown foliage; the little Wren 
( Troglodytes Europeus ) is busy 'with the fallen leaves, 
creeping about them like a mouse, prying into every 
nook, for she is a complete Paul Pry in miniature. Then 
there are those active little rogues the Tits, they make 
the woods ring with their merry notes ; no sight can be 
more beautiful than to see a troop of these interesting 
birds busy amongst the scanty foliage; assuming every 
variety of attitude with the greatest ease, and constantly 
repeating their call notes, no doubt, as a guide to keep 
them together ; these small companies consist generally 
of the following species, the Great Tit, (Pams major ) 
Blue Tit ( Earns coerideus), Long-tailed Tit ( Pams cau- 
datus ), Cole Tit (I’arusater) , and at times the Marsh 
Tit ( Earns palustris ), they are also mostly accompanied 
by a pair of the common Gold-crest ( Begulus aurica- 
pillus ), which are easily detected by then- mouse-like 
notes, and also by a solitary Creeper ( Certhia familiaris). 
In this manner they travel over a large extent of coun¬ 
try, assembling at sunrise, dispersing when the shades 
of evening begin to close around, to seek some warm 
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